התחיל hitkhíl, “begin, start,” is hif'il, root ת־ח־ל. The forms מתחיל and להתחיל can fool the eye into seeing hitpa'el's הת־ prefix. Here, however, the ת belongs to the root: the opening of הִתְחִיל is hif'il הִ־ followed by root ת. Present מַתְחִיל, future יַתְחִיל, and the long i of the stem confirm the analysis.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | הִתְחַלְתִּי hitkhálti | אַתְחִיל atkhíl |
| אתה | הִתְחַלְתָּ hitkhálta | תַּתְחִיל tatkhíl |
| את | הִתְחַלְתְּ hitkhált | תַּתְחִילִי tatkhíli |
| הוא | הִתְחִיל hitkhíl | יַתְחִיל yatkhíl |
| היא | הִתְחִילָה hitkhíla | תַּתְחִיל tatkhíl |
| אנחנו | הִתְחַלְנוּ hitkhálnu | נַתְחִיל natkhíl |
| אתם · אתן | הִתְחַלְתֶּם · הִתְחַלְתֶּן hitkháltem · hitkhálten | תַּתְחִילוּ tatkhílu |
| הם · הן | הִתְחִילוּ hitkhílu | יַתְחִילוּ yatkhílu |
| Form type | Forms | Register and use |
|---|---|---|
| present | מַתְחִיל matkhíl · מַתְחִילָה matkhilá · מַתְחִילִים matkhilím · מַתְחִילוֹת matkhilót | neutral |
| imperative | הַתְחֵל hatkhél · הַתְחִילִי hatkhíli · הַתְחִילוּ hatkhílu | true imperative; instructions and firm directions |
| conversational command | תַּתְחִיל · תַּתְחִילִי · תַּתְחִילוּ | ordinary speech |
| infinitive | לְהַתְחִיל lehatkhíl | neutral |
| action noun | הַתְחָלָה hatkhalá | beginning, start |
Modern plural תתחילו / יתחילו / התחילו serves groups of every gender. Dedicated feminine-plural forms are formal or literary. With second-person plural past, careful formal speech stresses the ending; ordinary Israeli speech normally retracts the stress, as hitkháltem / hitkhálten in the table.
מתי מתחילים? כולם כבר פה.
matái matkhilím? kulám kvar po.
When are we starting? Everyone's here already.
הסרט התחיל כבר, אבל לא הפסדת הרבה.
haséret hitkhíl kvar, avál lo hifsádta harbé.
The movie has already started, but you haven't missed much. (to a man)
The yod disappears before a past-tense suffix
The most useful contrast on this card is הִתְחִיל hitkhíl beside הִתְחַלְתִּי hitkhálti. The long i and its written yod belong to the unsuffixed third-person stem. When a consonantal person suffix attaches, the stem shortens to הִתְחַל־: התחלתי, התחלת, התחלנו, התחלתם. This is the regular hif'il alternation, not an extra irregularity of this root.
התחלתי ללמוד עברית לפני שנה, ועכשיו אני כבר קוראת עיתון.
hitkhálti lilmód ivrít lifnéi shaná, ve'akhsháv aní kvar korét itón.
I started learning Hebrew a year ago, and now I can already read a newspaper. (f. speaker)
התחלנו לעבוד על הפרויקט מיד אחרי החג.
hitkhálnu la'avód al haproyékt miyád akharéi hakhág.
We started working on the project right after the holiday.
Starting an action or an activity
Everyday Hebrew normally puts ל־ plus infinitive after התחיל when the new event is itself an action: התחיל לעבוד, התחילה ללמוד, התחילו לרדת. English can use either an -ing form or to; Hebrew uses the infinitive.
הגשם התחיל בלילה ולא הפסיק עד הבוקר.
hagéshem hitkhíl baláyla veló hifsík ad habóker.
The rain started during the night and didn't stop until morning.
היא מתחילה ללמוד רפואה באוקטובר.
hi matkhilá lilmód refu'á be'október.
She's starting medical school in October.
With a noun, ב־ presents the activity or item at which one begins: התחיל בעבודה, נתחיל בפרק הראשון. This frame is available in neutral speech as well as writing; the genuinely higher-register partner is החל hekhél, hif'il from ח־ל־ל. News, minutes and formal announcements favor הישיבה החלה where conversation favors הישיבה התחילה.
נתחיל בפרק הראשון ונשאיר את המבוא לסוף.
natkhíl bapérek harishón venash'ír et hamavó lasóf.
We'll start with the first chapter and leave the introduction until the end.
הישיבה החלה בשעה תשע וננעלה כעבור שעה.
hayeshivá hekhéla besha'á tésha venin'alá ka'avór sha'á.
The meeting began at nine and was adjourned an hour later. (formal)
מהתחלה, בהתחלה and למתחילים
The action noun התחלה builds several essential expressions. בהתחלה means “at first / in the beginning”; מהתחלה means “from the beginning, over again”; התחלה חדשה is “a fresh start.” The participle becomes the learner noun מתחיל / מתחילה, with plural מתחילים / מתחילות.
לא שמעתי את ההוראות; אפשר להתחיל מההתחלה?
lo shamáti et hahora'ót; efshár lehatkhíl mehahatkhalá?
I didn't hear the instructions; can we start again from the beginning?
בהתחלה היה לי קשה, אבל אחרי שבוע התרגלתי.
bahatkhalá hayá li kashé, avál akharéi shavúa hitragálti.
At first I found it difficult, but after a week I got used to it.
הקורס הזה מתאים למתחילים גמורים.
hakúrs hazé mat'ím lematkhilím gmurím.
This course is suitable for complete beginners.
התחיל עם in colloquial Hebrew
Literal התחיל עם משהו can simply mean “started with something.” With a person, however, colloquial התחיל עם commonly means “hit on” someone; in a hostile context it can mean “start up with, pick a fight with.” The pronoun follows עם: איתי, איתך, איתו, איתה. Tone and situation select the reading.
הוא התחיל איתה בבר, אבל היא לא הייתה מעוניינת.
hu hitkhíl itá babár, avál hi lo haytá me'unyénet.
He hit on her at the bar, but she wasn't interested. (informal)
אל תתחיל איתי עכשיו, אין לי כוח לריב.
al tatkhíl ití akhsháv, ein li kóakh larív.
Don't start with me now; I don't have the energy to argue. (informal, to a man)
Key Takeaways
- התחיל is hif'il, root ת־ח־ל; the ת is a radical, not part of hitpa'el.
- The yod appears in התחיל but disappears before consonantal suffixes: התחלתי, התחלנו.
- An action normally follows as ל־ plus infinitive; a noun can follow ב־.
- החל is the formal/literary partner; התחיל is neutral in speech and writing.
- התחיל עם אדם can mean “hit on” or “pick a fight with” in informal Hebrew.
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- בניין הפעיל: Causative and Much MoreA2 — Hif'il is the third of the everyday active binyanim, and the one whose ה prefix keeps vanishing: it is there in הִתְחִיל, gone in מַתְחִיל and יַתְחִיל, back again in לְהַתְחִיל. Its other signature is a long i in the stem — and its reputation as 'the causative' will mislead you within a week.
- Where Did the ה Go? להתחיל, יתחיל, מתחילB1 — One slot at the front of a hif'il verb, and three different letters competing for it. The ה holds the slot in the past, the infinitive and the imperative; מ takes it in the present and a person letter takes it in the future — and whatever wins inherits the ה's vowel.
- Verbs That Take an Infinitive (רוצה, אוהב, מנסה, מתחיל)A1 — The first two-verb sentence a beginner can build: one conjugated verb, then an infinitive that never changes for anything. The whole pattern turns on a single question — is the second action done by the same person as the first? If it is, use the infinitive; if it is not, Hebrew switches to ש plus a finite verb.
- Proverb: כל ההתחלות קשותA2 — Three words, and the whole saying turns on a single ה. A close reading of כל ההתחלות קשות beside the medieval line it comes from, where the same word is spelled the same way and is not the same word — with כל used three different ways in three centuries, feminine plural agreement, and a predicate adjective that must stay bare.